I4C Trouble with Daly and Wallace

This week Daly and Wallace are back in Strasbourg and they're discussing all that went on at this week's plenary. First a debate on the impact the war in Ukraine will have on the EU economy as well as some recent comments Pope Francis made about the war which sound very familiar... We also discuss the rule of law enforcement mechanism the EU is using in Poland and Hungary, World Press Freedom Day and the EU's selectivity when it comes to which journalistic voices should be part of a free press, proposals to address the democratic deficit in the EU, and the impact of the war in Ukraine on women and children.

This week we’re discussing: the impact EU membership has had on Irish fishing and the changes that need to happen; the revolving doors phenomenon between the EU institutions and lobbying organisations; new attempts to regulate the environmental and human rights impact of corporations, military transport, and finally EU plans to switch to LNG gas.

This week Mick and Clare discuss their recent trip to Lesvos for the trial of Amir Zahiri & Akif Razuli, the asylum seekers in prison in Greece, charged with people smuggling. Their appeal has been postponed, yet again, meaning eight more months before they can challenge their sentence. We're also discussing Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, and their involvement in migrant pushbacks, Irish neutrality, sanctions on Afghanistan, and the need to investigate war crimes in Ukraine.

Mick and Clare were interviewed by Joanne Leon on Around the Empire this week. We discussed the war in Ukraine, sanctions, flooding the war with more arms and how all of these things lead to more war and destruction, not peace. To hear more from Around the Empire follow @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon or visit https://aroundtheempire.com/

This week Mick and Clare were in Strasbourg. They caught up on Wednesday to discuss sanctions, recent resolutions on Afghanistan and Ukraine, media narratives about the war, Clare’s recent trip to Guatemala and more. Just after this podcast was recorded Clare went to Greece for the appeal of Amir Zahiri & Akif Razuli, the asylum seekers in prison in Greece, charged with people smuggling. The appeal has been delayed until December, meaning eight more months in prison before these two innocent men can challenge their sentence.

This week we’re talking about the war in Ukraine from a different point of view. We discuss the period of undoing that we’re seeing in EU policy- across all areas hard-won environmental and social progress is being sacrificed in the name of the war. We discuss military mobility and transport, energy, food security and data privacy laws. We also discuss the upcoming EU-China Summit and EU sanctions on Russia.

Calls for increased militarism, and now abandoning environmental goals… A month in to the war in Ukraine and it is becoming clear how certain interests are taking advantage of the crisis. This week we’re discussing one example of this- the recent EU plan for ensuring food security in the context of the war, a win for big agri and a huge loss for the planet. We’re also discussing recent updates from Ukraine, Zelensky’s international speeches and government appearances, oligarchs and corruption, and the impact that sanctions will have not just on Russia but also on the people of Europe.

This week Mick and Clare are in Lesvos, Greece for the trial of Amir Zahiri and Akif Razuli who are being prosecuted as "people smugglers" for trying to seek asylum. They face 50 years each. We discuss their case and how Fortress Europe is allowing member states to criminalise asylum seekers through anti-smuggling laws. We also discuss a recent trip to Lithuania for another trial- this time that of Algirdas Paleckis, a writer being charged with espionage. Finally, the latest on the war in Ukraine.

This week we discuss Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Things have ratcheted up yet again and we are continuing to watch disaster unfold. Among other things, we discuss what we mean when we call for de-escalation and diplomacy, what that could look like at this stage and why it has not been seriously pursued. We also discuss how the dominant, pro-military narrative around the war is making this de-escalation less likely.

Eight days on from the invasion of Ukraine and much has changed since our last episode. We discuss our vote against the European Parliament resolution on Ukraine which has drawn considerable anger. We didn’t vote against condemning Russian aggression, we voted to condemn Russian aggression and will continue to do so. Our vote was against accelerating the provision of military equipment and weapons to Ukraine, strengthening NATO’s forward presence, further increasing defence spending, and activating European common and joint defence efforts. We discuss the question of Ukrainian defence and why channelling arms to the Ukrainians to fight this vastly unequal war will only lead to more devastation. We talk about the need for dialogue and diplomacy and the idea that calls for dialogue are rooted in naivety. Finally we discuss the possible ways out of the conflict. There's a lot to unpack here and this one dives deep